Bell Peppers And Beef
by Destrudo
Summary: My first fanfic, a short oneshot about life and food on the Bebop after Spike's passing. Please review.


Disclaimer: I own nothing and Cowboy Bobop is among the vast multitude of things I don't own. Don't expect to be seeing a lot of these in the future.

He looked down upon the heaping wok full of vegetables before him, the aroma of stir-fry floated up to his nose, reminding him of things he'd rather forget about. It had been a long time since he made this dish; the last time was for _him_. Hell, they had lived on ramen over the past month. After the proverbial sht had hit the fan, that is. It had only been just recently that Jet had started to wean the now-meager crew of the Bebop back onto real food.

Of course, his definition of real food was a bit looser then that of most people. To him, almost anything that came _sans_ Styrofoam cup was real, down-to-earth, home cooked food to him. It probably was that way for the rest of the crew too. Because when you're poor, the plainest home-made meal can seem like a slice or fried gold.

Then things had changed in the blink of an eye. He hadn't been ready for it. None of them had. Of course, deep down, he had always been aware that things would end the way they had. And even though he had expected something like this on some level, it didn't make it any easier to accept when it actually did happen. There's no way to prepare for something like that, something which was now hugely apparent.

After Jet had learned of the ISSP's raid on the syndicate from Bob, he was at a complete loss. There was no denying it, he was gone, and they had found his body coming down the staircase like he was on his way home. Like it was no big deal with half of his with half his blood trailing him down the stairs. It had a surreal quality to it, intangible but at the same time completely irrefutable like a dream that's all too authentic.

At first it had left him numb inside, unable to feel a thing. He had walked around the ship the first day, not wanting to stop moving. So he ambled, unable to find solace in the bonsai he so often primped and pruned to keep himself occupied. His footsteps echoed the corridors for hours upon hours, not stopping until he collapsed on the couch of the ship they all call home.

That was one thing they all shared…. The fact that none of them had home outside the walls of the ship might seem lonely to some, but to the crew of the Bebop, it was the only way they knew how to live. Each had their reasons. They might have had nothing else, but the Bebop would always be a home for them.

They were all stray cats. Having no place to go to, they naturally congregated among like-minded weirdoes such as themselves. It's natural. After all, as the saying goes, "No man is an island." None of them had the intention of partnering up with an ex-cop, erstwhile syndicate gunman, compulsive gambler/con woman, or bizarre computer hacker. No, these bounty hunters and drifters all came together in what appeared to be more than coincidence after all was said and done.

And as easily they had come together, they had all drifted apart. Each had their own circumstances that had forced them to leave. Some of reasons he deemed selfish, but given the chance and circumstance, he would have probably reacted the same way too. And now after 3 left, 2 came back, and 1 left again, it was clear to him that he had said enough goodbyes to last a lifetime.

He felt tapped-out inside, the numbness had given way to a sort of dangerous indifference that only people like them can have. That feeing replaced his numbness, and he told himself things would be fine and didn't care because Spike was nothing but trouble anyway. He tried his hardest but was ultimately a liar. If it were true, he wouldn't be standing teary eyed over a wok full of sizzling vegetables.

Thankfully though, at that moment, Faye chose to show up, damp towel still wrapped around her head. She had painted her toenails again, this time pink. How utterly Fay he thought. He smiled, looking down at the wok and back up again to Faye as he just stood there, absently stirring the vegetables.

"What are you making, my darling?" Faye asked in a sarcastic voice. No matter what happened she'd always be a smart-ass.

"My special: bell peppers and beef." He said, trying to fake a smile while saying it.

"Ah, the infamous bell peppers and beef. Spike used to tell me how much he hated it. He would rant for a good five minutes that you shouldn't call it bell peppers and beef if it had no beef to of speak of whatsoever. He really got worked up about it. Then again he would always smile when he talked about it though, saying you always try your best even though we were so poor."

Jet listened to this silently, tears once again threatening to spill forth uncontrollably as Faye walked back into the lounge area to go relax. He didn't understand it. He felt like he was going to cry, but the tears just wouldn't come. It didn't really matter anyway…

He wouldn't have wanted anyone to cry for him, that's just how he was. Spike Spiegel lived like he died, on his own terms. At the end Jet was sure he had no regrets about the choices he made. So instead of shedding tears he got up, walked to the trash, and calmly proceeded to dump out the still-sizzling contents of the wok.

"Here's to you, you lazy ass. There's no one to eat it now that you went and got your fool ass killed." he said, smiling as he watched the food disappeared down the chute. He felt a little better, but it would be a long time before things would feel normal again, well as normal as the Bebop ever got. Though before worrying about the future, he needed to decide what he was going to do about dinner...

"Hey Faye, how about some take-out?"

_See you space cowboy..._

A/N: Well there you have it, my first fanfic. I wrote it quite some time ago and never got around to publishing it, due to a little thing called life and all its wonderful mishaps. So wonderful I haven't wrote much of consequence for quite some time. I dug this up from the dark corners of my computer so that I can start anew and become a regular writer again. I left this largely as I found it and apologize for any roughness. Reviews are always welcome as are any questions or comments. Keep an eye out for my new stuff coming soon. Later..._  
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